Baseball Toolbox

Resources for Baseball Coaches

Progressive Hitting Drill: Emphasizing the Hands

By emphasizing the hands in the swing, hitters can develop a shorter swing that produces more consistent contact and fewer strikeouts.

In the video clip below Creighton University Head Coach Ed Servais (over 600 career wins) demonstrates a progressive hitting drill in which he reduces the role of the lower half in order to help his players use their hands to develop a shorter more consistent swing.

The sequence of drills is as follows:

  1. One Hand Drills – the hitter first uses his only front hand and then only his back hand to hit the ball
  2. Front Side Drill – the hitter faces forward and turns his shoulders and hits the ball with both hands without the use of his lower half.
  3. Open Stance – the hitter stands with an open stance turns the shoulder to hit the ball.  Very little use of the lower half.
  4. Square Stance – the hitter square to the plate to hit the ball, but still keeps is lower half quiet.

These 4 drills are just a sample of the drills you will find in Coach Servais instructional DVD. For more information about that product click the link Developing the 5-Tool Baseball Player

The YouTube clip below has audio, so please make sure that your speakers are turned on and that you can access the site. Note that some schools may block access to YouTube.